ReCurve 10-02-2009, 05:14 PM The Ramones said if you want to play punk music learn 3 guitar chords then OWN THEM!
I feel the same goes for cooking. Pick 3 dishes you love and learn to make them, and learn to make them well.
Make them once a week for a few weeks hopefully getting better each time. Then Cut back to once every other week or so. Always have the ingredients in the fridge to make at least two of your bad ass dishes in the fridge at all times. So you can cook it for the bitches, or somebody you want to impress.
First you will have some confidence in your cooking skills. Second you will have a back-up if your dinner party dish fails. "Sorry folks dinners gonna be an hour late, but your gonna like it at least"
Hope this helps you guys learning to cook for the first time. I wish I had a nickle for every time I spent 50 to 100 bucks trying to make some new fancy dinner only to have it taste like ass, and ended up ordering pizza
no. learn the basic techniques of cooking and master those. then you can apply them.
Baby Bew 10-02-2009, 06:02 PM no. learn the basic techniques of cooking and master those. then you can apply them.
This. You only need recipes for baking.
The only thing you need for cooking is to have an understanding of flavor combinations and this just comes from experience in dining, cooking, and watching Food Network.
ReCurve 10-02-2009, 07:26 PM I'm sorry I guess I need to be more clear. This post was for the pizza eating Ramon noodle eating non cooking college kid. Just a starting point nothing more. Find 3 dishes you love and learn them. 1 for the cooking lesson, 2 for the techniques you learn, 3 and the most import part of of cooking IMO is the confidence in a dish. If you love a dish, and know it inside and out you are well on your way to cooking good food.
doggor 10-07-2009, 11:05 AM I get what ReCurve is trying to say. He's giving a starting point so that people don't feel intimidated in the kitchen. The 3 dishes are the "First one is free" idea.
After you're hooked you can start getting into the fundamentals of cooking. Understanding knife skills, application of heat, methods of cooking, and flavor combinations. If you dump a new cook into that, they'll get scared and not do it all. If the new cook has a few mastered things they can go, "Oh that technique would make my x dish so much better."
Falhawk 10-07-2009, 11:47 AM just watch rachel ray or guy fierri
i just need to figure out which 3 dishes to pick!
Falhawk 10-07-2009, 04:19 PM mimic something from DDD or Guy's Big Bite
maybe take a weekend trip and visit some of the Man vs Food restaurants and make the food at home. Doesn't take long and you can enjoy them on sunday while watching football. Start drinking the good stuff at noon and switch to the piss once you've got a buzz.
dont forget water at night
BadMoFo 10-07-2009, 09:58 PM why the hell would you tell someone to watch Rachel Ray if they want to learn how to cook?
Vintage 10-07-2009, 10:13 PM why the hell would you tell someone to watch Rachel Ray if they want to learn how to cook?
qft
Boomerman 10-08-2009, 12:35 AM I started with cookbooks and worked at developing from there.
I do a lot of cooking at home and for friends because it's simply better and less expensive than eating out. I think starting with a few dishes to master is an idea that can work but buy a few cookbooks and start experimenting. You will see common trends in books that will give you a start one "what goes with what" in a general sense.
Be prepared to make mistakes, trial and error is part of learning any new skill and cooking is no different. Even a student can afford cheaper cuts of beef, chicken and pork, along with an assortment of fresh veggies. Add some spices and get creative!
old_skul 10-08-2009, 03:13 PM I look up recipes on the internet. Believe it or not, I've come up with some real gems - my roast recipe for one, which delivers one of the most delicious roasts ever.
Falhawk 10-13-2009, 11:48 AM why the hell would you tell someone to watch Rachel Ray if they want to learn how to cook?
um...
nigafool 10-13-2009, 03:15 PM uh rachel ray has revolutionized cooking
we use a lot of her techniques at work
Falhawk 10-13-2009, 03:37 PM I wear my sunglasses like guy
also I wear many rings
Feannag 10-27-2009, 11:07 AM Like all things, you need to practice. It also helps to dissect some dishes down to cooking technique and ingredients and figure out why they do it the way they do it (this is precisely what A.B. does) and once you get that down you can branch out into different things.
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